Learn how your nonprofit can save time and resources by taking the Board of Directors meeting virtual. There are several factors to consider when making the transition or experimenting with this new format. Learn what to expect and how to navigate through this change - Peterson Sullivan - Nonprofit CPA Firm

1. JULY 2013
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Board meetings: Time to go virtual?
Regularly scheduled board meetings are a must, but not every meeting has to be
conducted in person. Periodic virtual board meetings—ranging from conference calls to
videoconferencing—can offer benefits for both organizations and their board members.
Making attendance easier
As anyone involved in nonprofit man-
agement knows, it can be difficult to
always secure full board meeting
attendance. Board members tend to be
busy people and may often travel,
making in-person attendance at every
meeting unlikely. Virtual meetings might
allow these members to attend meetings
they otherwise couldn’t, giving them the
chance to interact and make valuable
contributions. Also, required quorums
usually become easier to meet!
Virtual attendance also can make board
participation more appealing to potential
candidates. Knowing they won’t be
expected to show up at every meeting
may make busy candidates more likely to
commit their time. Virtual meetings also
can help prevent board member “burn-
out” by making the time they spend
more focused and meaningful.
The advantages to the organization of
committed, active board members are
obvious. And some boards with mem-
bers around the country might benefit
from reduced travel and meal reimburse-
ment costs.
Facing challenges
Of course, effective virtual meetings
aren’t without obstacles. Members can’t
always read each other’s facial expres-
sions and body language as easily as
they could in person, potentially leading
to misunderstandings or conflicts. The
chair can find it difficult to shepherd
discussion and debate, especially with
larger boards. And each participant
needs to hear and be heard clearly
throughout the meeting.
Confidentiality also is a concern. You
must be able to trust that the board
members are alone in their remote
locations, with no outsiders privy to the
discussions. Members in remote loca-
tions are more vulnerable to distractions,
as well.
Taking steps to success
Virtual board meetings require extensive
preparation, particularly for the inaugural
meeting. And being an effective present-
er at a virtual meeting requires on-point
training. So don’t spring a virtual meet-
ing on board members without first
conducting and sharing research,
discussing the implications of such a
change at an in-person meeting, and
getting the board, well, on board.

2. 2 PROFITABLE SOLUTIONS FOR NONPROFITS | JULY 2013
Congress urged to
“liberate” IRS data on
nonprofit sector
A report from the Aspen Institute
encourages Congress to require the
IRS to make Form 990 data “open”
— available to all free of charge in a
standard format, published without
proprietary conditions and available
online as a bulk download. To do so,
Congress would need to require
nonprofits to file their forms
electronically.
Forms 990 are currently released
only as individual image files.
According to the report, Informa-
tion for Impact: Liberating
Nonprofit Sector Data, this format is
useful only for reading about a
single organization at a time. The
institute is requesting comprehen-
sive and computable data that can
be openly aggregated, searched,
checked and analyzed.
The institute has recommended a
two-track strategy. To achieve a
longer-term goal of legislation that
requires electronic filing to create
open 990 data, the institute
suggests a shorter-term strategy of
developing a third-party platform
that can demonstrate more immedi-
ate benefits.
Generating revenue
with a new app
Tab for a Cause, an application for
Chrome and Firefox Web browsers,
automatically donates fractions of a
cent to charity each time someone
opens a new tab. The app replaces
the blank pages that appear when a
user opens new tabs with pages that
display information about several
causes along with advertisements.
Whenever a user opens a tab and
views the ads, Tab for a Cause gets
money from the advertisers. The
proceeds are donated to the charity
of the user’s choice. More
information is available at
tabforacause.org.
Recognize, too, that certain issues are
more suitable to virtual discussion than
others. Virtual meetings generally work
best for straightforward discussions with
no controversy — for example, updates
from program or development staff or
the formal approval of a policy or budget
discussed in detail at an earlier meeting.
They also may prove useful for relatively
brief meetings needed to obtain board
approval for an urgent action. Virtual
meetings are inadvisable for complicated
issues, but with the proper technology
work well for issues that involve the use
of visual aids such as PowerPoint®
presentations.
As with any leadership meeting, it’s up to
your nonprofit’s staff to organize, provide
the necessary equipment and prepare
the board for a virtual event. Among
other things, staff should:
• Send board members any supporting
materials well in advance of the meeting
and consider making them available
online during the event (whether via
e-mail or some type of secure Web
portal),
• Provide the appropriate training to any
speakers, and ask board members to
check in several minutes before the
scheduled start to avoid interruptions
once the meeting has begun, and
• Take time zones into account when
scheduling the start time.
Perhaps the most critical step is for
everyone to become familiar with the
relevant technology. Test the system
ahead of time to ensure it works as
needed and establish backup plans in the
event of technological failures
Don’t forget the law
To avoid getting tripped up by legal
problems, check applicable state laws for
nonprofit board meetings. Your state, for
instance, might allow teleconferencing
but not videoconferencing. And amend
your bylaws to permit virtual meetings
before holding such a meeting.